NBL1 West, formerly the State Basketball League (SBL), is a semi-professional basketball league in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to ...

, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2020,

Basketball Western Australia Basketball Western Australia (a.k.a. the Western Australian Basketball Federation) is the governing body of basketball in Western Australia and is responsible for the development and promotion of the sport at a state and local level. History Th ...

partnered with the National Basketball League (NBL) to bring

NBL1 NBL1 is a semi-professional basketball league in Australia, consisting of South, North, Central, West and East Conferences with both men's and women's competitions. Each conference is run by their respective state governing body, with the l ...

to Western Australia. NBL1 replaced the former SBL to create more professional pathways and opportunities for males and females playing basketball in Western Australia. As a result, the SBL became the west conference of NBL1.

History

The State Basketball League originated in 1972 as the District Competition. The District Competition was introduced by the Western Australian Basketball Federation (WABF) as an 'elite' competition held on Friday nights, featuring eight

Perth Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth most populous city in Aust ...

-based associations from the prominent districts of Perth, Swan Districts, Tangney/Willetton, Subiaco, East Perth, Cockburn, Stirling, and Claremont. In 1986, the competition was rebranded as the "State League". This name continued in 1987, but 1987 was something of a watershed year for the WABF, as the entire structure of the game in Western Australia was being reconsidered. A census in 1987 showed that 61 percent of WABF members were from country areas, so it was decided to try to include several country teams in the state's premier basketball league. The

Perth Wildcats The Perth Wildcats are an Australian professional basketball team based in Perth, Western Australia. The Wildcats compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Perth Arena, ...

had a hugely successful season in 1987—reaching the NBL Grand Final in their first trip to the finals—attracting much television coverage, which saw basketball's popularity soar. In 1988, it was decided to form a State Basketball League for both men and women, and to develop it into an elite, statewide competition as soon as possible. This meant seeking out private owners and attracting corporate sponsorship, so as to not burden the association. As part of basketball's development, the Western Australian Institute of Sport men's team was included in the SBL under Warren Kuhn. Simon Leunig, who had been the WABF's development officer, was appointed general manager of the SBL, and set about organising an expanded league for 1989. His marketing strategy paid off, and three new franchises were established in country areas: the Rainbow Coast Raiders from Albany were the first, followed by the Batavia Buccaneers from

Geraldton Geraldton ( Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West region of the Australian state of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. At June 2018, Geraldton had an urban population of 37,648. ...

and the Souwest Slammers from Bunbury. The expanded SBL, which was limited to men's teams in 1989, was sponsored by

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. It is a commercial term, limited to food sold ...

and

Skywest Skywest may refer to: *SkyWest Airlines, an airline serving the United States, Canada and Mexico **SkyWest, Inc., the parent company of SkyWest Airlines *Skywest Airlines, now operating as Virgin Australia Regional Airlines Virgin Australia R ...

, with a $65,000 grant from the State Government to help with travel costs. In October 2020, Basketball Western Australia and the National Basketball League (NBL) announced a new partnership to bring

to Western Australia in 2021, with NBL1 replacing the SBL. The SBL was officially renamed NBL1 West and became the west conference of NBL1.

Current clubs

Women's teams

Men's teams

League championships

Perry Lakes Hawks championship banners 2019

The Willetton Tigers have won the most championships in the women's competition with 9 Grand Final wins, while the Perry Lakes Hawks have won the most championships in the men's competition with 7 Grand Final wins. The Hawks women have also amassed seven titles, making Perry Lakes the most successful club in league history with a total of 14 championships.

References

External links

*
Old SBL website
{{Basketball in Australia NBL1 Basketball in Western Australia Basketball leagues in Australia 1989 establishments in Australia Sports leagues established in 1989